Artist Of The Month – Quintino (May 2014)

If Quintino had a tattoo, it would probably read ‘Go Hard’. And that’s not just because he has an upcoming single titled the same. Quinten van den Berg personifies the motto with his quintessential banging beats (no pun intended) and dynamo-like stage presence. His forté lies in house productions (“because I’m Dutch” he ironically jokes) and his reputation to bring the house down precedes him. It’s also really rare to find a photo of him without his party face on – an open-mouthed grin, either making the Jesus pose behind the console or posing with the top 10 DJs his best friends.

Growing up in a musical family, Quintino was naturally blessed with talent and a broad musical influence. He did not limit himself to exploring only specific music genres, he would listen to and learn from many different styles and artists. There was never much of a struggle about what his future occupation would be, since he was 15, he started DJing at his fathers club. While completing his schooling Quintino worked as a DJ on weekends and was instantly hooked to the profession.
In the pageant of EDM prodigies and protégés, Quintino has been a front-runner since the ridiculously young age of 18, having been blessed by a holy trinity of mentors. Curated by Laidback Luke,  who was so impressed by Quintino’s turn tablist skills, that he decided to train him under his wing, the man then collaborated with his homie Afrojack, and dropped the bomb known as Epic on ‘Musical Freedom’, the label owned by none other than original gangster Tiësto. He knows how to pay homage to his inspirations, having remixed Blow, Laidback Luke’s collaboration with Martin Solveig, Afrojack’s Ten Feet Tall, and Tiësto’s Chasing Summers, with his iconic powerdrop infused hard-style yet big room sound.

His ascent peaked when he released his two most iconic songs till date, Epic and Selecta – collaborations with Sandro Silva and Afrojack respectively – a mere two months apart in 2011. Both tracks

Clearly, between going hard or going home, the house hero only knows how to go hard.

Since then the magic hasn’t stopped, as 2013’s Quintino-gilded charts have displayed. Some standout singles include the beauteous World In Our Hands, an electro collaboration with Alvaro that showcases his versatility as he experiments with a softer side, and Dynamite, a supersonic blend of Taylr Renee‘s sick vocals and even sicker beats that he produced with MoTi.

A little over a decade since he was discovered, Quintino has established himself in the pantheon of Dutch dance music gods, with the Supersoniq record label and 37-episode strong radio show to his name. He has performed at a repertoire of venues, from Ultra Music Festival where he partied onstage with Tiësto and Afrojack – Netherlands represent! – to the world’s largest paint party at Life in Colour, and from the Sochi Olympics (nice taste, Putin) to literally our shores at Sunburn Goa last December.

To say the least, this summer will be off to an epic start when the Dutchman returns to India with his full-powered sets. Check out the tour dates for your city below! It goes without saying, it’ll be certified bangin.